Some ended up joining the bands they worked for
Some hit songs were written in a matter of hours, but the opposite is also true. Sometimes musicians need to let a song sit for a while before they can finish it the right way. This has happened on several occasions, when for instance a song was written but didn't quite fit the album the artist was working on, so it was later modified and released.
In this gallery, we look back at some songs that took a long time to complete. Click on to get to know them.
Freddie Mercury started working on the song he called ‘The Cowboy Song’ back in the late 1960s. In 1975, it was released as part of Queen’s album ‘A Night at the Opera.’ The song had evolved and was renamed ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’
Dave Grohl wrote ‘Friend of a Friend’ about his Nirvana bandmate Kurt Cobain. The song was never intended to be an eulogy, as the song idea began while Cobain was still alive. The acoustic tune can be found on their 2005 album ‘In Your Honor.’
‘Start Me Up’ dates back to 1975. Back then, it was as a reggae-inspired song called ‘Never Stop.’ The song was eventually dropped. It was later changed and included in the Stones’ 1981 album ‘Tattoo You,’ and the rest is history.
Released in 2016, ‘True Love Waits’ had actually been lying around ever since Thom Yorke and the band released ‘The Bends’ back in 1995. The song was then rearranged as a piano ballad and released as part of the band’s ninth album, ‘A Moon Shaped Pool.’
‘Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)’ dates all the way back to 1993. Billie Joe Armstrong wrote it about his then-girlfriend, who was moving to another country.
The song was originally an up-tempo punk tune, but it never made it onto Green Day’s album ‘Dookie.’ Years later, the band picked it up again and made different arrangements. The song was a hit in 1997.
One of Leonard Cohen’s most famous songs, ‘Hallelujah' took around five years to write. In one writing session, Coen wrote a whopping 80 verses. "To find that song, that urgent song, takes a lot of versions and a lot of work and a lot of sweat," he said.
‘Hallelujah’ was released on Leonard Cohen’s 1984 album ‘Various Positions’ and has been covered extensively by other artists over the years.
According to Bob Dylan, ‘Tangled Up in Blue’ took him "ten years to live and two years to write." The song was inspired by Joni Mitchell's 1971 album ‘Blue’ and ended up in Dylan’s 1975 album ‘Blood on the Tracks.’
Originally titled ‘The Five of Us Are Dying,’ this epic tune dates all the way back to the beginning of the band. Five years later, My Chemical Romance released ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’ as part of their third studio album, ‘The Black Parade.’
‘Josephine’ was released in 2015 as part of Chris Cornell’s album ‘Higher Truth.’ The idea of the song, however, dates back to 12 years prior. Cornell wrote ‘Josephine’ for his then-future wife.
‘Don't Cry’ was the first song Guns N' Roses ever wrote. Two versions ended up on the albums 'Use Your Illusion I' and 'Use Your Illusion II' in 1991.
The iconic power ballad was written by Axl Rose and predates the band itself. In 1986, Guns N' Roses recorded an 18-minute version of it, but it wasn’t until 1991 that the final version was released.
Eddie Vedder wrote ‘Better Man’ before Pearl Jam even existed. He got to perform one version of the song with his former band Bad Radio in 1989. ‘Better Man’ was not released by Pearl Jam until their third album, ‘Vitalogy,’ in 1994.
Back in the ‘90s, George Harrison revealed that the early demo version of the song from the late ‘60s wasn’t great, so it was shelved. Thanks to new technology, it was completed and finally released in 2023.
‘Turn the Lights Back On’ didn’t come to life until songwriter and producer Freddy Wexler helped the Piano Man write the lyrics. Released in 2024, the song was the perfect comeback.
It’s easy to imagine how many good songs Paul McCartney has left out of albums over the years. ‘When Winter Comes’ is one of these songs. The idea dates all the way back to the ‘90s and it hadn't seen the light of day until his 2020 album ‘McCartney III.’
The Fleetwood Mac singer wrote ‘Hard Advice’ as an ode to her friend Tom Petty, but the song was not released until years after, in her 2014 album ‘24 Karat Gold: Songs From the Vault.’
This song dates back to the ‘Wildflowers’ studio sessions in 1992. It was not until 2015 that it was included in a re-release of the album.
Gregg Allman first penned ‘Melissa’ back in the late 1960s. The song is actually about a store attendant, and not a girlfriend as many believed. The song was not released until 1972.
Released in 1989 as part of the album ‘The End of the Innocence,’ this song was a collaboration with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell. "It took me 42 years to write this song and 5 minutes to sing it," said Henley.
‘How Long’ was first penned by singer-songwriter JD Souther back in the 1970s, but the Eagles never released their version of the song. Well, not until 2007.
Released in 2008, ‘Chinese Democracy’ was the album Guns N’ Roses fans had been waiting for 14 years. The song ‘Shadow of Your Love,’ however, had been brewing since the ‘Appetite for Destruction’ days in the late ‘80s.
Though a faux-live version of it was released as a B-side back then, it was not until 2018 that it saw the light of day as part of the band’s debut album, when it was remastered.
‘When It’s Time’ features in the band’s 2010 album ‘American Idiot,’ but it was first created back in the days of Green Day’s 1994 album ‘Dookie.’
Armstrong wrote ‘When It’s Time’ for his wife back then, but it was not until 16 years later that it was finalized and released in an album.
Sufjan Stevens had the idea of writing this song when he first saw Tonya Harding skate in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1991. It was not until 26 years later that the song was finished.
James Keogh, aka Vance Joy, said that he started working on ‘Riptide’ in 2008, but didn’t finish the song until 2012. The song remained on the top 100 of the Australian charts (ARIA) for over 120 weeks.
According to lead singer and guitarist Clemens Rehbein, ‘Stolen Dance’ took three years to complete. The song was finally released in 2013.
Sources: (Far Out) (Ultimate Guitar)
See also: Songs that climbed the charts way after their release
Famous songs that took ages to complete
Some were released decades after they were first written
MUSIC Songwriting
Some hit songs were written in a matter of hours, but the opposite is also true. Sometimes musicians need to let a song sit for a while before they can finish it the right way. This has happened on several occasions, when for instance a song was written but didn't quite fit the album the artist was working on, so it was later modified and released.
In this gallery, we look back at some songs that took a long time to complete. Click on to get to know them.